Emma Thompson and Jim Carter join forces to save neighbourhood trees

British stars Emma Thompson and Jim Carter are among the locals fighting plans to chop down 35 trees to make way for a railway station in their London neighbourhood. The pair is backing a campaign to stop bosses at development company Ballymore from ripping down the trees in West Hampstead.
Carter, who lives in the area with actress wife Imelda Staunton, says, “I have lived in West Hampstead for over 20 years and I’m dismayed to hear that there’s a possibility that 35 trees may be chopped down by the developers Ballymore. I would urge them to reconsider as a matter of utmost urgency.
“In a densely packed residential area like West Hampstead all our green amenities are cherished and provide a much needed habitat for wildlife as well as visual relief from the enormous increase in hard landscaping. I would urge them to look at increasing the number of mature trees on the site rather than reducing them.”
Meanwhile, Thompson, who grew up in the area and lives on the same road as her actress mother Phyllida Law, accuses the company of “eco-savagery”.
In a letter opposing the move, she writes, “I have lived in West Hampstead for many years and have watched as development has all but removed any green spaces and most of the life-giving trees from the area. I understood from the council that your development was set to include the trees that give pleasure and – vitally – oxygen to the area, but I now understand that you are planning to chop them all down. Please do not indulge in this act of vandalism and eco-savagery. Your development will be infinitely more attractive with the trees in place.”